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is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". christian: hello, i'n fraser, and this is "the context." >> a final decision and a final signoff, cut that at the leg from manchester. >> definitely scrapping, it is

all speculation, nothing is going to happen. >> the rumor says all right, cancel to manchester, but you will be turning your back on an opportunity to level up a once in a generation opportunity. ♪ christian: yes, the chancellor refuses to speculate on the speculation that he is overshadowing the conservative party conference. the rumor and manchester that the northern leg is being canceled. we will get reaction tonight from the director of the northern powerhouse partnership. also tonight, donald trump in court in new york, attacking the very man who sits as judge and jury over this case "just so you know, my financial statements are fine we will talk about the

medical breakthrough for malaria, a second vaccines shown to be 80% effective. a child dies every minute from the mosquito-born disease. good evening. after weeks of speculation and years of a decision about the u.k.'s infrastructure project, and what appear the birmingham to manchester leg is finally coming off the rails. there are widespread reports today that a decision is already being made to scrap the northern branch and that a portion of that money will be saved and invested in other transport projects. we are told the announcement will come wednesday in the prime minister's speech to the conservative party conference. no final decision is yet to be taken. why the government would allow speculation to overshadow its annual party conference, and one they have staged in manchester of all places, is a bit of a head scratcher.

the conservative mayor of the west midlands, andy street, hailed an impromptu -- held an impromptu press conference, warning the prime minister he will be wasting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. >> you will be turning your back on an opportunity to level up a once in a generation opportunity. you will indeed be damaging our international reputation as a place to invest. the alternative is to put with us, engage with us, fully engage the private sector here, and what they could do to find a way that we can still build this national piece of infrastructure in a way which we can afford. christian: let's speak to the director of the northern powerhouse partnership, henry morrison, who is with us from manchester. it must be a peculiar

atmosphere, henry. our party activists likely to ask about why this has been left over to the party conference in manchester? henry: i agree, christian, it is strange infrastructure poly, because the prime minister is also committed historically to building northern powerhouse rail. you and i have discussed this on our program four. you leave the heart of a 30-mile gap in the northern line. an extra $15 billion taken, added to the northern powerhouse rail, so this potential sort of windfall of people's transport priorities, a journalist at another broadcast had termed it in the briefings he had seen, at last when he spoke to people across the bbc region, including in yorkshire, that potholes were

his priorities. in south yorkshire, one of the areas he was discussing with a particular calling from the bbc, the recent round of investment will not see a penny of additional investment to yorkshire. i'm not sure people are believing, including the ones you know here in the northwest, will ever see the money, so they will lose northern rail on the top of losing hs2. christian: and goodness knows what that will do for trust and the government in the north. can we pick up one of the issues the chancellor turned to today? he seems to be sugsting it is much more expensive to run an infrastructure project like this in the u.k. than it is in france. why is it cheaper for the french to build a project like this than the u.k.? henri: it is approximately 10

times more expensive in the u.k. one of the reasons for that is when the french bill past a village or town, they don't let the high-speed line in a tunnel. in order to keep tory activists and members have, many local up and down the rows, and places, where they lost an election to the lib dems, they gave away tunnels, gave away cut ends, and on a journey from west london up to birmingham, if that is all that is built, you basically won't see daylight spirit the challenges, -- they let. the challenge is if you build loads of tunnels you don't need to give your own in people's and voters happy, it costs 10 times more than a normal real royal -- railway. i don't know who is to blame, if they will come together with andy street to talk about how they can reduce the cost, or is it the prime minister's,

colleagues, and government, is that him as chief secretary and chancellor, was he necessarily focused on keeping the cost down? was he genuinely doing enough to tackle inflation? is it because of inflation, christian? we know that is one of the prime minister's priorities. he should take them responsibly for that. christian: one of their other arguments is the business case has changed, which, again, is odd, because that when i speak to what i go to the northwest say they desperately need the northern leg of the hs2 network. they all sayhat the business case has shifted such that the investment would be wasted. what would you say about the message it sends out to international investors who might be looking at the u.k.? henri: investment here in northern england, would you know well, have actually gone up significantly the last 10 years, compared the last five years.

we have overtaken london in terms of investment. that is because of the northern powerhouse vision george oswald has come the northern powerhouse railway, hs2, take that away, and that will undermine confidence invested in manchester. "the times" reported they are actual planning in the proximities, the depot, going up 400% compared to the west midlands in research they had seen. when you look at the evidence, there clearly are economic benefits associated with hs2, we spent a lot time in the last two weeks trading costs, time, but fundamentally, christian, this government has not managed the project well. they have put the price up to keep their own members and constituents emp's happy. -- and mp's happy. by delaying elsewhere, by delaying costs, putting up the expenditures, a former civil service at that, i agree with

her. when you add this together, the government is responsible for the increasing cost of israel, largely -- this rail, largely. the government needs to take some responsibility for that, and rather than telling us in the north that we need to make do with filling in potholes they already told us they would fill in, it is time to deliver hs2 in full, northern powerhouse rail in full, and work with andy street in the north to deliver for the country, to deliver hyperactivity, to raise wages in the north, because youut spending on it for structure, all you are doing is saying it is ok in the north for people to earn eight grand less than people in the south. it is ok to have worse health outcomes. it is ok to keep subsidizing that for the welfare benefit and the public spending on those costs. what i want to do is make this country more prosperous. rishi sunak wants to manage his own political future. he was a minimize damage in the election. he wants to keep people happy.

the challenges, the big things, as gordon brown has said, david cameron has said, as risa mae and boris johnson have said, not a group of people who agree about very much. this is in the national interest. this prime minister is more worried about running away from his predecessor, boris johnson, legacy on as erie, -- on net zero, on npr, that is not a per structure, that is not ricy being rishi, that is rishi being weak. he either has to only record of the government he was a key part of from the treasury, but he's already lost the next general election. he is simply out of touch with what people here in the north want, with the red wall, where -- christian: just very quickly, because i'm out of time, if they scrap it tomorrow, could they

pick up, could labour get behind it and rebuild it? henri: i think people will be thinking, who will be running the country in six months? the northern powerhouse, comments, will power and authority started rain from this prime minister? will next week in live report businesses start -- will, next week in liverpool, businesses start talking to who they think will be in power. if he misjudges the mood of the public and the economic summit we think he will. christian: henri, i can tell how angry you are. henri: thanks, christian. i'm just feeling very disappointed with him. christian: i understand that. henri murison, always good to talk to you. thank you for coming on the program. that might explain in part while the -- why the chancellor, jeremy hunt, flew to manchester rather than risking it with the train, whether it is really the

30 have a minute journey board cross explains it will be. in many case, the chancellor does have a question about hs2, preferring instead to focus on the key advancements that he traveled to manchester to make, among them the rise in the national living wage to 11 pounds, a rise to nearly $2 million, new pelted -- new penalties for those on benefits were not actively seeking work, and as expected, he ruled out any sizable giveaway until inflation is brought back under control. >> we promised in our manifesto to raise the national living ways to two-thirds of median income, ending low pay in this country. at the moment, it is 10.42 pounds an hour, and we are awaiting next year's recommendation, but i confirm today, whatever that recommendation will increase the national living wage to at least

11 poundsan hour next year. that is a pay rise for 2 million workers. and the wages of the lowest paid over 9000 pounds higher than they were in 2010, because if you work hard, a conservative government will always have your back. christian: let's go to watson, who is in manchester. i just wanted to make sure he was there. it was a quick switchover with harriet -- henri murison. you were probably listening, who has invented -- invested so much time in hs2. what a conservative party has let this overshadow the chancellor's speech today and the rest of the conference. >> that is absolutely the question, christian, and the question has been asked in some parts of government, too, because they are pretty much

convinced that the northern part of hs2, that leg between birmingham and here in manchester, will be canceled. certainly what he and others were campaigning for behind the scenes last week or for an announcement to be made last week. perhaps he could wait until the chancellor's financial statement, offering a statement next month. but given it is in manchester, they were pushing for rishi to make that decision last week. lasting one day rather than closing the entire conference. that of course not happen. it is still interesting, no final decision has been made. now there seems to be three counts, those who would be delighted, another lot, counsel that otherwise we just need to know, pressing the prime minister to make his own views clear this week in manchester, and basically filling the vacuum by arguing all over again, that

the hs2 should go all the way to manchester. it means there's even coverage for laborthere -- coverage there. there was a splash made a couple of years ago by conservatives saying this is a once in a generation opportunity to level up, and opportunity the prime minister might miss, so by not making that decision, other voices do fill that vacuum. my make you uncomfortable for number 10 downing street. christian: elsewhere, former prime minister lives trust -- liz truss at an event today, it cannot be done until inflation is under control. iain: that is exactly right, and it is easy to argue for tax

cuts, for more difficult to deliver them. saying you will make things better, if you can get inflation down, if the government can deliver on its promise to half inflation by the end of the year. he said it is already down 40% of its. it is interesting in terms of mood here, because his speech was relatively well-received, but it is the membership that got liz truss and not rishi sunak last summer to the conservative leader. there is a big constituency here for tax cuts. jeremy hunt says he cannot deliver them. i would still be a little bit surprised, if it will be at the heart of his budget next year ahead of the general election. christian: we will see what happens with inflation and that spring budget. iain watson, thank you for your time. around the world and across the

u.k., this is bbc news. other stories, valley police conform -- confirm they are investigating harassment and stalking allegations against russell brand made by a woman in the area. four women accused mr. brand of sexual assault and rape. he denies the claims. a police investigation into a man who detonated a bomb outside a live report women's hospital -- liverpool women's hospital -- that combined with middle hill elf allowed him to -- led to h to c conduct the attack. he was killed in the attack. a bbc tv presenter said her life was saved by a checkup. she noted white flashes in her right eye.

he said her resident was in the process of detaching and booked her in for an emergency operation. you are alive with bbc news. it is the single greatest witch hunt of all time, donald trump on his way into a new york courtroom in a civil fraud case in which he could lose $250 million. he and his two sons are accused of inflating his assets to secure better loan insurance terms well deflating the value of those same assets to avoid tax. it goes to the very heart of who donald trump is and what he cares about the most. why else did he fly back from iowa last night to appear in or in person? outside the courtroom, he lambasted the judge who holds his fate in his hands and the new york attorney general who he says is a racist and a horror show. mr. trump: severity simply put, it is a witch hunt, it is a

disgrace. we have a corrupt attorney general in this state. we see how she does. this trial was railroaded and fast-track. this trial could have been brought years ago, but they waited until i was right in the middle of my campaign. it is all run by the doj, wch is corrupt in washington. everything goes through them. they are all corrupt people. frankly, our country is corrupt, and that is one of the reasons i'm running. we are going to straighten it out. christian: he talks like that for several minutes. let's speak to richard painton, who was the white house ethics lawyer for president george w. bush and is now a professor at the university of minnesota. it seems to me that o his way into these civil court case, donald trump was trying to relitigate what has already been decided, but that is not what this trial is about, is it? prof. painter: this trial is about fraud, bank fraud and

insurance fraud, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud, and others have been prosecuted for it, where you inflate the value of your assets for paying back loans and insurance. the financial collapse of 2008 was caused by those who would seek to inflate the value for the process of obtaining loans. this is a very serious type of fraud, and the new york attorney general is pursuing it. the new york attorney general does not report to the united states party -- department of justice kagan does not know what he is talking out. he could have pursued this as a criminal case. the manhattan district attorney was investigating this as a criminal case and almost brought charges, and they decided, because it was civil fraud charges, where they needed proof of fraud by clear and convincing evidence, not beyond a reasonable doubt needed for a criminal child, but the judge has ruled there is fraud.

of course he is going to say the judge is corrupt. that is what donald trump says every time a judge rules against him. the same thing against the judge of the district of columbia, who is an african-american woman. this goes on and on with donald trump that he accuses the prosecutors and the judges of being corrupt and things that is going to get him out of trouble. christian: the judge already decided that he is canceling donald trump's business licenses in new york. how serious is that for the trump organization? prof. painter: well, it means the trump organization is going to have to sell their business is to someone who is licensed in new york, sell the trump tower and the other buildings, because new york state has a right to tell people who commit fraud that they are not allowed to do business in the state of new york. this is a decision by the judge that donald trump has committed fraud. is donald trump appeals that decision to the new york court and it is overturned, ok, he

could do business in new york, but until then, it looked like he will have to consider selling his businesses in new york state. christian: grow quickly, richard, i think it has been down for three months, this civil case, how does that work with the other trials, four cases he is actually appearing in, and what his schedule now looking like? prof. painter: donald trump's schedule in court is crowded. his other four cases are criminal cases. he has another criminal case in new york, by the manhattan vision of the manhattan attorney for falsification of business records to conceal the stormy daniels payout. he has a federal case in florida, coming up in the spring for his theft of classified documents and obstruction of justice, obstruction of investigation in connection with declassified documents found in mar-a-lago. another case in the district of columbia for violation of several federal conspiracy statute in connection with his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, an event in january 6,

and yet another case in fulton county, georgia, for violation of georgia's racketeering statute in connection with the attempt to overturn the election result in georgia, when he called the secretary state of georgia and told him to recount the votes. all of these trials expected to happen in 2024, in the first half of 2024, so donald trump is going to have a very busy time in court. christian: indeed. richard painter, nice to see you. thank you so much. malaria has been a tricky target to the world's vaccine makers. the parasite causes mutations that allow them to develop resistanceo existing treatment, but now there is a second vaccine that in phase three trials were 75% effective. they were tested in four african countries. they could be on the market by

mid-2024,hich is big news, because in the most recent figures from the who, 619,000 malaria deaths in 2021, 2 hundred 74 million new cases, 95% of them in africa. children under five the most vulnerable group, and in 2021, they accounted for nearly 80% of all malaria deathss in the africa region, one child death every minute. let's talk to professor peter hotels, dean, center of the vaccine development. thank you for coming on the program. how significant do you think this is? >> this is, as you mentioned, the second malaria vaccine. the problem with the first is it has been harder to produce in scale, it was first licensed in 2021, only about 1.8 million doses delivered.

this next version, 2.0, which came out of research at oxford university, looks like it could be scaled around 100 million does per deal -- per year. christian: if their funding to get it out there at scale? dr. hotez: that will always be the question. who is going to pay for this? will the african union have the support? what will be the commitment of the g7, g20 countries? nearly the needs of work. the other thing about this vaccine, the version 2.0 out of oxford and the institute of india, the cost is relatively low, looking at two dollars, three dollars a dose, because it uses ayeast technology, similar to our covid vaccine, which was also about two dollars, three dollars a dose, and we got 100 million doses ministered around that same level of support. so you are right, you know, if you talk about two dollars, three dollars a dose, $100

100 million doses, 200 -- $200 million, $300 million is not a lot of money coming to many on how you look at it. christian: i'm sorry to squeeze you, big news, and lots more on that story on the bbc website. take a look at that. big news for the continent of africa of course. we will take a short break and come back with an extraordinary story about a number of bombings in sweden. please stay with us. we will be right back. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial serves firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and ter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program